Hello!

I was blown away by the reception to my one shot "Her Mantra," what a lovely welcome back to this site!

So, this is my first multi-chapter story. It is totally AU, and as such the following changes have been made:

1. The age gap between Kate and Rick.

2. There is no Meredith, and therefore no Alexis. I'm sorry if people don't like this, but I had to do it for this story to work.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

Chapter 1

This was a stupid, idiotic idea. Just plain ridiculous. To make it even worse, for the first time since she had met him, the trouble she was about to get herself into was not his idea, but hers. They had found out about the baby 1 month ago, when she had already been 8 weeks along. The pregnancy had not been planned, but after a lot of discussion, Kate and Rick decided that they could make it work. Despite their age, and the fact they were both in college, they were now very excited about the prospect of a bringing a little person into the world who was the perfect mix of two of them.

So, that is how Kate found herself stood outside the door of her parent's apartment, ready to tell them that in 6 months time they would be grandparents. And Kate had had the genius idea of having this conversation with them on her 19th birthday. She felt sick, and she knew that for the first time in weeks it had nothing to do with the so called 'morning sickness' that had tormented her for the last month.

"I can't do this." She whispered. Kate moved her eyes from her parent's door as she looked into the eyes of her boyfriend. "I don't even know how I'd start."

"We don't have to do it today, Kate. We can tell them whenever you want to tell them." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. He truly had been amazing since the pregnancy test came up positive. Willing to do whatever she wanted, but clearly hoping from the beginning that she would make the decision to keep the baby. It never ceased to amaze her how much this man wanted her to be happy.

"No, we should do it. We barely see them anyway and this is definitely a conversation that we shouldn't have over the phone." She responded softly.

To make this even harder, her dad really disliked Rick, and had done ever since she started dating him when she was 16. Initially the problem had been the age difference - the three years making her father's blood boil - but had transformed into Jim hating pretty much everything about this kind, sweet man who she was sharing her life with. This had been made worse when she made the decision to stay in New York for college, instead of going to Stanford like she had originally planned. She had also moved in with Rick rather than into the dorms like her parents had wanted.

Kate could still picture the look on her father's face the day she moved out of the family home, into the apartment her and Rick had found.

"Why are you throwing your future away over that boy, Katie? You could do so much more with your life."

"I'm not throwing my future away. Columbia is a good school. And I love him, Dad. I really do. I'll never know if this will work if I don't try it."

The conversation had gone no further, and she had not seen her dad since she moved out back in August. She had seen her mother though, who frequently came to their apartment at lunch time if Kate didn't have class. Johanna was actually rather fond of Rick, and encouraged him with his hopes of becoming a writer.

The tension in the Beckett's marriage that their differing opinions about Rick caused was no longer spoken about. After a long series of full blown arguments with her dad when she first started to date Rick, with her mother mediating, it just became the norm. Rick was a trooper though, and accepted her fathers indifference and glares as par for the course on the odd occasion they all got together.

"You're worth it." He'd reply if she ever asked why he put up with it. She just hoped he'd always think so.

That is why she had decided today was the day to tell them, even if it would put a damper on her birthday celebrations, because the next time she saw them would probably the following month at Christmas and by then she'd be showing a little.

She would typically go out for dinner with her parents for her birthday, and since Rick came into her life he had come along too. Kate had realised that a restaurant probably was not the best venue for the discussion she was dreading to have. She had spoken to her mom, and under the guise of missing her famous Chicken Parmesan, had arranged for the meal to be at her parents apartment.

"Did you bring your key?" His question pulled her out of her train of thought. She looked at him and nodded as she reached into her purse to pull out her keys. She moved the key into the door, and sighed as she turned the lock.

"Here goes nothing."

If either of her parents had noticed her anxiety, they hadn't said anything. Dinner had been delicious, and Kate was pleased that her unborn child didn't seem to have a problem with her mothers cooking like they did with everything else she had attempted to eat recently.

Kate had a particularly close call during a lecture the week before where another student had felt the need to eat a burrito whilst the professor was talking. She flew out the door the second the lecture ended, and promptly threw up in the closest bathroom. She already loved her child fiercely, but the almost constant vomiting was getting old.

They had finished eating, and were now sat at the kitchen table exchanging small talk. Her mom asked what Rick had got her for her birthday. A question which she had answered, although she omitted the gift of a "I Love my Mommy" onesie that had made her eyes well up as she held it in her hands.

Ok, so maybe the hormones were getting old already too.

The conversation throughout the meal had mostly been comfortable, although there had been awkward moments. She hated that her relationship with her parents had become like this. They used to be so close, but for a reason she just didn't understand her father could not accept Rick - even though they had been together for nearly 3 years. It briefly occurred to Kate that she might understand one day, if the child she was carrying dated someone she disliked, but she so desperately wanted to believe whatever makes her child happy would make her happy.

"Are you ok, Katie?" Johanna enquired, "You're awfully quiet this evening!"

"I'm ok, Mom. Just tired." She looked to Rick, who gave her an encouraging look. Kate faltered slightly, the false smile she had put on for her mother falling off her face, she grabbed Rick's hand from under the kitchen table, and started again. "Actually, there is something that we need to tell you."

Both of her parents straightened in their seats, instantly noticing the seriousness in their daughters voice.

"What's going on? Jim asked, his voice stern. He looked back and forth between the two young people sat opposite him. Kate wouldn't meet his eyes, and looked down at the table as if it was suddenly very interesting. Realisation set in, and he put his head in his hands. "Oh no Katie, please don't tell me-"

"I'm pregnant." She interrupted, wanting to say it before her father could finish his sentence. The way both her parents looked at her broke her heart, and she knew that all of her concerns about this were about to be founded. Neither of them spoke, and just kept staring, so she continued speaking.

"We didn't plan it, obviously, but we've spoken about it a lot and decided we can do this," she almost pleaded, begging them to understand. She looked at Rick who squeezed her hand in support.

"We know it won't be easy," Rick added, trying to support his girlfriend where he could. Jim Beckett scoffed at his statement, and stood up. His chair scraped loudly against the floor, and it only seemed to highlight the shocked silence that Johanna was still in.

"How could you both be so stupid?" Jim raged, "You've just ruined your lives, and for what? 10 minutes of fun? I knew something like this would happen." Jim stood there, looking at them like he expected one of them to answer, although he carried on before they could. "I never should have let you move in with him."

"You didn't let me do anything!" Kate shouted back, his angry words finally drawing a reaction out of her. "We took precaution, Dad. We were being safe, and this still happened."

"Oh don't give me that, Katie."

"Dad, I've been having sex with Rick since I was 16. Don't you think if I didn't know how birth control worked this would have happened a long time ago?"

"Katherine!" Her mother exclaimed, her daughters admission about her sex life apparently pulling her out of her silence. Johanna looked between her husband, who was still stood up, and her daughter, and she knew she could easily loose control over this situation if she didn't act fast. "Jim, sit down. We need to talk about this like adults." Her husband relented, and took his seat back next to her, and he fixed his glare on Rick, who had now put his arm around the shoulder of his distressed girlfriend.

"Good," Johanna continued. "Now Katie, Rick, please carry on."

"I'm 3 months along. Basically I had an ear infection a few months back and I was prescribed antibiotics. They made my birth control ineffective." Her dad looked horrified, still at the mere idea of her being sexually active, so she decided to steer the conversation in another direction.

"We had our 12 week scan last week. I have a copy of the scan with me," She said as she grabbed her purse off the floor, she rooted through her bag and pulled out a square photo. She placed it on the table and pushed it towards her parents. "I'm due May 23rd, so after final exams have finished."

"How are you going to do this? What are your plans?" Johanna asked.

"I've been taking extra classes the last two years, so I'm due to graduate the week before the baby is due," Rick replied. "I'm still working at the Public Library as often as possible to get money."

"So, once school starts up again next Fall, I'll go back and Rick will look after the baby whilst I have class, and he'll work when I'm home. Martha has already said she'd baby sit whenever we needed it if my classes clashed with his shifts."

"Wait, you already told Martha?" Johanna asked, the hurt quite clear in her voice.

"We see her more often, plus it became quite clear something wasn't right when I threw up at the smell of her perfume a couple of weeks ago," Kate tried to joke, in a poor attempt to lighten the mood.

"This is all your fault." Jim's comment seemed to come out of no where, and was clearly aimed at Rick.

"Dad-"

"No, Katie. I won't have it. Before you met him you had such solid plans for your future, and now you're going to be a teenage mother! Do you really think that you'll be able to handle being in college and having a baby? You're supposed to be smart, Katie, not some dumb girl who gets pregnant to her no good boyfriend." He got angrier with each word, practically spitting them out as he got to the end.

"That's not fair, Dad." Her voice cracked, and she knew she was on the verge of tears. She didn't want to cry here though. She didn't want him to make her doubt the decisions she was so sure of when they started this conversation.

Jim sighed dismissively, and got up from the table.

"I need a drink." He mumbled, before walking into the kitchen area to get a whiskey.

"Katie," her mother drew her attention back to her, "Have you considered your options?"

"Yes," She replied, wiping the tears that had fallen off her cheeks. "We talked about it, but I found I just couldn't do it. I want this baby. So much. We'll make it work, you have to believe me." Kate knew she was being optimistic, which was out of character, but at this point she felt she had no choice.

"I'll look after them, Johanna. I promise." Rick pulled his girlfriend tighter to him. "Even if it means working day and night, I'll do it. I love them both." It was impossible to miss the loud scoff from Jim's direction, so in an unusual act of defiance, Rick added something which he knew would irritate the older man in the room.

"In fact I'd marry her tomorrow if she didn't insist she didn't need a ring on her finger just because we're having a baby."

It had the effect he wanted on the room. Kate seemed outraged, but only in the way she ever was with him. She looked at him with indignation in her eyes and slapped him lightly on the chest. Johanna laughed once, but quite loudly, and Jim slammed his tumbler of whiskey on the counter where he stood.

"That somehow doesn't surprise me in the slightest," Johanna retorted, smiling at the couple in front of her. For a moment, the atmosphere mostly lifted, and Kate felt like this could all work out. Until her father spoke again.

"Well, don't expect to come to us for money when this all goes wrong or when he leaves you." He knocked back another sip of whiskey, and Kate couldn't help but wonder just how many he'd had this evening. Her father was typically a kind, gentle man. He did like to drink sometimes though, and it made him say hurtful things if he was in a bad mood.

Tonight, apparently, was no exception.

"I can assure you, that is not going to happen." Rich grit out through his teeth. He wanted so badly to say to Jim what he had always wanted to, but Kate's love for her father stopped him. Rick would do anything to make her happy.

"Do you honestly think that the Library is going to pay enough for you to raise a child?" Jim questioned, "Or are you still relying on your childish fantasy that somebody is going to publish your terrible manuscripts?"

Kate had officially had enough.

"We're leaving." She said as she stood, pulling Rick with her by his hand. "This clearly isn't going anywhere, and we should probably continue this on a day when someone isn't going to say something they will regret." Kate went around the table and hugged Johanna, and purposely missed her father on her way back round to Rick. "Thank you for dinner, Mom. It was delicious and was just about the only meal I've been able to keep down in weeks." She looked to her dad, who was making no attempt to stop them from leaving.

"Call us when you are ready to talk about this properly. We are having this baby, there is nothing you can say to change our minds." Her mother gestured towards the sonogram photo left on the table. "Keep it. We got an extra copy for you."

Rick smiled at his girlfriends parents as Kate moved past him to the door.

"Thank you," he said simply. For the first time in his life, Rick found himself lost for words. He pulled the door closed behind him, leaving Jim and Johanna slightly dumfounded on the other side of the door.

He turned around, and was instantly engulfed in a hug by his girlfriend. She buried her head in his neck, standing on her tip toes so she could hold him in the way that he knew gave her the most comfort. He returned the hug as tightly as she was holding him.

"It could have gone worse." He offered quietly, into her ear. She scoffed in response, and pulled away from him so she could look at him.

"How?"

"Well, they could have thrown us out," He linked his arm through hers and started to lead her through the corridor away from the Beckett's apartment, "They could have killed me and hidden my body and then sent you to a nunnery." He got the reaction he wanted, which was a laugh.

"Just take me home, Rick," she held onto his arm tighter, and rested her head against his shoulder. "I want to have a shower and go to bed."

"Need company in that shower?"

"Of course." She smiled at him, her first true smile since she entered her parents apartment a few hours earlier.

Things weren't going to be easy, but he made her believe they would get through this.

"So," Johanna exclaimed as she was washing dishes, making a little more noise with the cutlery than strictly necessary. "Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" She asked her husband.

"What? You can't possibly be ok with this."

"Is it what I always dreamed for her? No." Johanna stated, she stopped what she was doing and turned to look at her husband. "But, what I have always wanted for her was for her to find someone who loves her as much as that young man does. Jim, they are having this baby whether we like it or not, so we have to be ok with their choices." She almost pleaded with him, wanting him to see it from her point of view.

"That's it then? We are just going to accept that our daughter is going to be a mother before she's in her 20s?"

"We are going to learn to live with it. But I tell you now Jim, we are going to have a proper conversation with them about this. Because nobody on this planet is going to keep me from loving my grandchild." The house phone rang before she could continue with her tirade. "That will be the office." She said as she moved towards the phone.

"At this time of night?" He queried.

"It's about a case I'm investigating. Nothing worth boring you with." She took a step back towards him to kiss him on the cheek, before heading for the study to answer the phone.

"What do you think they'll look like?" Kate asked quietly. They were lying in bed, her cuddled up to him with her head on his chest. He had his arms around her, and had pulled the covers over them to protect them from the chill in the November air.

"Who? The baby?" His answer was the feel of her nodding her head. "Like you, I hope. He or she will be a heartbreaker from the start." He smiled at the idea of their child, still so small inside of his girlfriend. The idea of being a father terrified him, but he was so excited.

"They should have your eyes though, love your eyes." He could tell she was getting sleepy, and he ran his hand up and down her back in an attempt to lull her into sleep.

"I think that's up to you, dear. You're the one making the baby." He joked.

"I'm fairly sure DNA plays a major part in it, but I'll get working on it."

"Even when you are half asleep you have to correct me." He pressed a kiss into the top of her head.

"Get used to it, babe. I'll be doing it for the rest of our lives."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

I hope you liked it and want to read more! Chapter 2 is already in progress. Please review and let me know if it is worth carrying on.

Just to clarify a couple of things. This chapter was set in November 1998, which means that characters are only a couple of months away from Johanna's murder. This will happen in this story. I've written this as an exploration of what Kate's life could have been like when she had no choice but to ignore the obsession that has driven her life in the canon storylines. Plus, I always enjoy stories where she met Rick when they were young. So that is how this was born!

I know that Jim in particular might be slightly out of character. However, remember that Kate said in the show that he had been unhappy when she moved in with her first boyfriend. I was just trying to channel that!

Please leave a review :)